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Preparing for your driving lessons can be daunting but try to think of it as an exciting milestone that will shape your life to come. While Tudor Driving School understand most Lincoln students will be completely new to driving protocol, there are some preparations you can take to ensure you are ready for your initial lessons and beyond.

At the very least, driving instructors will expect you to be conscientious and partake in part time home learning. Driving isn’t just a case of sitting down and firing up the engine, it is a dense subject in itself that rewards keen learners.

Our instructors will regularly ask you questions during your lessons about the technical side of your vehicle. This includes (but not limited to) how to check your oil, water and petrol levels, your indicators and engine status. There are many minor attributes in a modern car which are easy to overlook but assist you in unavoidable ways. Be ready to answer questions as they will likely be asked impromptu.

Your lessons will only be an hour or two a session dependent on your timetable; this gives you plenty of spare time to practice independently. If you have a confident family member or friend with plenty of driving experience, ask them to take you to a safe clearing where you can practice what you have learned so far. Just like an academic exam, this is all leading to a final test so be sure to revise!

The looming theory test is what catches many out so stay ahead of the crowd and study the Highway Code in between lessons. This way you can apply your learning in a practical way which can only benefit you further when the time comes for your test.

Last but not least, driving instructors like to talk. We natter a lot and we don’t do it to annoy you, this is actually an important part of learning to drive. When you get your license, it’s very likely you’ll have noisy friends and companions in the vehicle distracting you. The driving instructor will prompt you on your driving, engage in friendly chat and sometimes intervene during travel… this is all part of learning, so be prepared to chat!

The technological advances brought on by the digital age haven’t just affected the way we engage with media but also the way we travel. It’s evident that both public and personal transport has adapted to the changing tides, especially when one considers the mainstream acceptance of Sat-Nav technology. Tudor Driving School are by no means luddites, which is why the news of a Sat-Nav assisted driving test raises curiosity rather than outright rejection.

As reported in the national press, a young gent named Grant Ferguson became the first person in the UK to take a test of this nature and hey, he passed. The Sat-Nav was only used in the first 20 minutes as a means of judging the student’s ability to follow verbal instruction on a pre-planned journey. This way, the teacher was able to see how well he could incorporate all the different skills amassed over his lessons while following verbal instruction and a journey plan.

More importantly, introducing a Sat-Nav during the test could be a positive way of ensuring that drivers will learn how to listen to instructions instead of staring at a distracting screen. Of course you may be thinking, ‘hang on, putting a Sat-Nav in a test is a distraction in itself?’… well, yes but the point is to teach them to use it conscientiously and safely. Many people employ Sat-Nav’s in their daily driving but few understand how to make safe us of them without looking at the screen constantly.

We’ve spoken of big changes to the UK driving test in the past but this seems far more likely to actually happen in the near future than previous outlandish predictions. The change will be trialled across 1000 learner drivers in the coming year with the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) allowing driving schools to sign up for the trials at will.

Learning to drive is something everybody deserves an opportunity to take part in. It’s a universal skill of aspiration and Tudor Driving School will never condemn or scrutinise anybody who comes our way regardless of race, culture or orientation. With that said, is it fair that the DVLA have rejected this man’s driving license application on the basis of Mr Ian Harris wearing a colander (yes, a pasta strainer) on his head?

We’ve all met some odd people in our time, most of them really quite charming, but never have we driven a man around with a colander on his head. Would we object to teaching him? No – but we’re not issuing official photographic documentation for his driving license, so it’s somewhat understandable why they have refused to authorise his photograph. The thing is, Mr Harris says his colander is religious attire for his belief in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He’s a ‘Pastafarian’, in fact it sounds like quite a fun church which is based around free speech and offers a light hearted alternative for atheists. It has a long history and has made the news before but is it a true religious piece of attire?

It’s safe to say Mr Ian Harris isn’t too happy about his rejection and has taken steps to prove his devotion to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Thing is, it’s clear he’s doing it in goodwill and trying to prove a satirical point about conventional religion:- “I have a spiritual connection with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, until they have brain probes how are they going to say I don’t.”

DVLA claim religious headwear is only allowed for major religions and the photograph must be clear and a current likeness to allow police confusion free identification. That’s all very fair but the push for ‘major’ religions only seems to rub some people the wrong way. It would be rather funny if he does indeed get to wear his colander, weirder things have certainly occurred and in this age of cynicism it would be a kind gesture.

Well then, this is an odd one. We’re used to the news blowing predictions out of context but this is a little hard to contort. Elon Musk, the famous entrepreneur, engineer, inventor and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors believes that if self driving cars take to fruition then traditional driving could be made illegal. The idea seems sound but at the same time a glimpse into a very different future to the one we once envisioned.

As humanity becomes ever reliant on digital methods, there’s a sense we are losing the traditional need to engage with physical tools around us. Sure, self driving cars could be safer but they also represent the oppression of travel and the liberation offered by your own free roaming vehicle. Tesla Motors have long been celebrated for their innovations in electric cars but more recently it’s their autonomous cars which have courted the most press.

Elon Musk thinks that should these self driving vehicles become popular, the all out ban on traditional driving would take around twenty years to achieve “because of the sheer scale in the challenge of replacing cars already on the roads”. It seems a little farfetched to trust the world’s travel to a computer system and a tough pill to swallow for the millions of car enthusiasts across the world. We really can’t see it happening, at least not in the next fifty years at least.

The technology itself is still very much in its infancy and as Mr Musk points out, the biggest hurdle will be “navigating urban streets safely at speeds of between 15mph and 50mph”. Self driving cars can’t predict the future any better than a human, so being able to get the car to respond to an immediate and unexpected danger will be a huge task. The outcry at the first on road death in a self driving car would surely cause a social uproar.

How do you feel about this? Overblown nonsense or a wise, ecologically progressive move? Tell us…

The bizarre phenomenon of self driving cars introduced by Google seems to be heating up with potential competition from the controversial Uber taxi service. The ‘autonomous car’ is a concept the public are failing to latch on to in fear of their safety but even on paper the notion of the car being in control seems a little far-fetched. Still, this hasn’t stopped Google further developing their driverless tech with UK tests rolling out across the UK in Bristol, Coventry, Milton Keynes and Greenwich this year for a period of 18 to 36 months!

The government are said to be funding a good £19 million of the trials expenses but don’t expect to see Herbie rolling up your high street going bananas anytime soon as all testing will take place away from main public roads. Those that fear a driverless future needn’t worry; it’s very unlikely that the technology or consumer desire will be there to replace the freedom of a traditional vehicle. Those who should be a little worried are taxi drivers, as it’s more than likely that driverless cars are the next progression in public transport.

The news is alight with news that Uber are launching an ‘advanced technologies centre’ in Pittsburgh in order to develop their own ‘autonomous’ technology and trial safety tests. For those unfamiliar with Uber, they are a hugely popular mobile app ‘taxi’ service operated entirely outside of regulation. Their drivers are essentially hired on the basis they own an acceptable vehicle and are qualified to drive, hence worries over passenger safety. They have been at the receiving end of countless protests throughout Europe and American by taxi drivers, companies and government officials who believe Uber are operating an unlawful operation which is threatening the livelihoods of thousands of regulated taxi drivers.

With all this said, the Transport for London Plan for 2050 which was released in July 2014 hopes to harness the driverless tech to reduce deaths on the road, save money on buses and provide a more efficient service. How this plays out only time will tell but for a heavily compacted area like London, they may just be on to something.

First of all we’d like to wish a very happy New Year to all our students both past, present and future.

As Tudor Driving School enter 2015 (oh, we’ve been in this game a long old time now) we’re feeling as resolute as ever with our eyes looking keenly at the challenges ahead. When it comes to new year resolutions, it’s easy to pick something daft and easy like ‘cut down on chocolate’ or ‘drink less wine’ but in reality these rarely stick. The best resolutions are applied to physical practices, you know, like driving.

We’ve compiled 4 suggested New Year’s resolutions for you to consider when it comes to your time behind the wheel. Feel free to suggest some of your own on Facebook.

Signal

Your indicators are there for a reason and neglecting their use is lazy and dangerous. Drivers and pedestrians aren’t telepathic; they don’t know your next move before you do, flick the switch for courtesy and safety.

Speed Limits

Goodness, this should be an obvious one. The arrogance of the over confident driver can be the undoing of more than just pride and those speed signs are there for a reason. We know it can be tricky to keep to 40 or 50 on an open valley of road but if you’re frequently driving on a curvy, dark roads while hammering the accelerator then you might wish to take heed.

Hang Up

Phones, iPods, Sat Navs – leave them alone, just stop fiddling during driving. It doesn’t matter if you’re stuck at a light because that could change any second. If you want music on then choose an album or playlist before you set off and don’t even think about answering that phone.

Tyres, Wipers and Engine

It’s easy to get complacent when it comes to car maintenance; if it’s not affecting you directly then it must be fine right? The problem is these problems can sneak up on you at the most inopportune times. Keep on top of your tyre inflation, check your wipers for muck and keep the tank happy. Also, give your car a good clean!

You may have heard in the news lately about some significant changes that could be introduced to the standard UK driving test. Tudor Driving School have been in this business for over 25 years but this has the potential to be the most significant change seen in some time. First up is the dreaded ‘three point turn’ which faces redundancy due to its supposed lack of relevance to modern driving. This is interesting given there are far more important manoeuvres and situations that have long gone neglected.

The DVLA have also released a statement that suggests they have been seriously reconsidering how effective the current test procedure is to new drivers. An unnamed spokesman from the agency has said “We are carrying out initial research to explore how the driving test could better reflect real life driving. Any future changes to the test would be subject to full public consultation”, the last part is an encouraging democratic move but we hope the consultation also comes from those who moderate and teach driving on a daily basis too.

So what’s going to happen next? 1000 learner drivers from the UK will be taking part in an exclusive trial of the new practical exam with the suggested changes. Reversing out of a parking bay, rejoining heavy traffic flow and following SatNav directions as part of an independent driving section are key additions to the reshuffle. The emphasis on motorway driving and joining traffic is welcomed as this is something many new drivers find daunting and struggle with.

For now we’ll have to see what the future brings but this reshuffle will affect all of our lessons and usher in a new era of modern test conditions. Till then, we shall continue to offer the absolute best in Lincoln driving instruction.

We’ve been feeling very optimistic about all our future students lately, particularly those ready to start training to be instructors at our Tudor Driver Education Centre in Lincoln. You see we don’t just help people learn to drive but we also have an incredible track record of coaching new driving instructors in Lincolnshire for over 20 years. If that wasn’t enough of a testament to our dedication, we started coaching instructors outside the area way back in 1967 in anticipation for the yet to be instilled mandatory A.D.I. qualification two years later.

We have seen over 80 Lincolnshire students alone walk away as fully qualified A.D.I. instructors, ready to embark on a new and successful career of their own in Lincolnshire. Our success and your success has become part of a perfect synthesis and we are delighted to say that our last three P.D.I’s past part one and two of their tests first time round.

Being your own boss can be an incredibly rewarding experience and lead to a livelihood of exciting and varied challenges. You’ll earn an average of £30k a year with your training being completed in as short a period as five months. If you are interested, please get in contact with our very own Rob here and discuss training, finance and your availability. Our training packages start at £2750 and we will help accommodate every student’s individual situation to help you get the most from your training.

If you’re reading this you may have noticed we have a new website! If not, take a look here. As the digital age continues to expand, we knew we couldn’t get left behind so a little end of year clean up was needed for a fresh year of business. Tudor Driving School has been teaching citizens of Lincoln for over 25 years and in that quarter of a decade we’ve seen hundreds of you walk away smiling, certificate in hand and ready to face the road ahead.

As we move towards 2015, we’d like to reiterate our ethos and articulate what we can do for you personally as a learner driver. Having been in the driving school business since 1969, all that experience needs to be channelled somewhere. We avoid the city centre and allow you to take things at your own pace. There is nothing worse than a teacher forcing you through the motions through a lack of patience and passion, we are the anti-thesis of this and hope you’ll agree. We also teach people how to become driving instructors and this plays a huge part in our business, we have helped fuel the local industry and bring many people a new, exciting and rewarding career path. You can look on our (new!) website about how to approach this and what we can do for you.

Our new site also includes the long overdue Theory Test practice page which is a nifty feature for those of your journey to become new drivers already, take a look here. We understand that learning to drive is more than just brawn, so we take it upon ourselves to tie in the theoretical aspects of driving in your standard training. Our high success rate and glowing testimonials are very precious to us and we hope that you’ll consider our service. Whether you want to drive, want to instruct or are interested in specialist learning, don’t hesitate as we want to help however we can – get in contact here today!

So you think you’re ready to hit the road but one last hurdle remains – the theory test. At Tudor Driving School we like to bring out the best driver possible in all our students and all this takes is little faith, confidence and passion from our instructors in you. The theory test is something outside of our curation but we want to ensure that come the big day, you’ll be confident in the knowledge we’ve bestowed upon you.

There are several important things to consider in the lead up to your theory test, chief among them is revision. The Tudor Driving School website contains a special section with an extensive list of official safety questions which shall arise in your test and theory, so please take the time to read over these and refresh your memory. The theory test will take place in two halves, the first will contain 50 multiple choice questions out of a potential 1000. You’ll need a minimum of 43 correct answers to pass onto the next area of the test – hazard perception. Before we discuss this, we’d like to recommend your investment in the official Driving School Agency theory test handbook which is available at all respectable high street and online book retailers. The handbook is especially useful for its imagery, example questions and revision tips.

Next, you’ll want to consider your knowledge of hazard perception. This is where most people trip up come the test as it requires a keen, educated eye and a precise hand. The test will run through a variety of video clips which depict a variation of common driving hazards, it’ll be up to you to isolate and inform what these hazards are on screen. There are websites and services which can assist you in preparation for this such as Drive IQ.

It may seem daunting but revision is the key, don’t procrastinate and put in the time. Get friends and family to test you from the handbook, do blind tests and play to your strengths as a learner. You’ll be fine.